Re: dead Audi (again) :-(

[LToy@aol.com]

John Blake writes:
> I suppose I'm opening myself to comic comments and I certainly don't mean 
> to take a shot at Bob's helpful posting, but, he says not having actually 
> checked where the switch is on his own car, couldn't one simply depress 
> the switch on the trunk without having to shut it to see if the light goes 
> out?

and Bob D'Amato responds:
> Sure, but what I found is that the switch worked when I did that, so you 
> cant rule it out as the problem.  What happend to me, was the previous 
> owner apparently closed the trunk on an item, pushing the sheetmetal 
> around the switch up, so the pinswitch never closed far enough to turn 
> off.  I had to take out the switch, bend the metal back and replace the 
> switch.. (New one JIC).  The bend was not obvious either, it wasnt 
> scratched or wrinkled... it looked quite good! :)

Several years ago, the trunk wiring on my '87 4000 csq started breaking up.
 This is the wiring covered by the black plastic sheath snapped into the
trunk support hinge.  How did I find out?  I noticed inop tail lights in the
trunk lid.  Not thinking to check the lights with the trunk open, I simply
replaced them with new.  Still no lights.  Leaving the lights on, I opened
the trunk lid--instant tail lights!  The ground wire for the tail lights had
broken; when you opened the trunk lid, the ground circuit for the trunk light
took its place.  And while this repair *was* cheap (soldering a few inches of
new wire in place of old) it was neither quick (took a few weeks to diagnose)
nor easy (look up above that gas tank, where the trunk support hinges go in a
4000 csq to see how much room you have to work)

linus